Resolutions of Inquiry: An Analysis of Their Use in the House, 1947-2011

Christopher M. Davis
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process

A resolution of inquiry is a simple resolution making a direct request or demand of the President or the head of an executive department to furnish the House with specific factual information in the Administration’s possession. Under the rules and precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives, such resolutions, if properly drafted, are given a privileged parliamentary status. This means that, under certain circumstances, a resolution of inquiry can be brought up on the House floor even if the committee to which it was referred has not reported it and the majority party leadership has not scheduled it for consideration.

Between 1947 and 2011, 290 resolutions of inquiry were introduced in the House of Representatives. Two periods in particular, 1971-1975 and 2003-2006, saw the highest levels of activity on resolutions of inquiry during the 64 years studied.

Although nearly every standing House committee has been referred at least one resolution of inquiry during the post-World War II period, the Committees on Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, and the Judiciary have received the largest share of references because the most commonly sought information has related to defense, foreign relations, and intelligence. Most resolutions of inquiry are directed to the President himself, but other executive branch officials have been the subject of such information requests as well.

Just under half of the resolutions of inquiry introduced between 1947 and 2011 were reported by the committee to which they were referred, in most cases, adversely, indicating that the committee opposed the resolution. This opposition might be because the resolution had been made moot by the executive branch complying in whole or in part with the request, or because such a request would, in the view of the committee, compromise an ongoing investigation, endanger sensitive information, or seek already-available information. Less than a quarter of the resolutions of inquiry introduced during the period studied reached the House floor, the last one in 1995.

Although Representatives of both political parties have utilized resolutions of inquiry, in recent Congresses, such resolutions have overwhelmingly become a tool of the minority party in the House. This development has led some to question whether resolutions of inquiry are being “misused” for partisan gain or are unduly increasing the workload of certain House committees. Others have attributed the increase to a frustration among minority party Members with their inability to readily obtain information from the executive branch.

Available data suggest that approximately 30% of the time, a resolution of inquiry has resulted in the production of information to the House. In the majority of cases, however, it is simply unknown, unclear, or in dispute whether the resolution of inquiry produced any of the requested information, a fact which might suggest the need for additional investigation of the efficacy of this parliamentary oversight tool by policymakers.


Date of Report: March 16, 2011
Number of Pages: 76
Order Number: R40879
Price: $29.95

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